ARTICLE IX. - DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL

901. - General provisions.#

The town shall have the authority under this Charter, subject to the Constitution and laws of the state, to establish by ordinance enacted by the town council such personnel policies, rules, and regulations as the council may deem appropriate, subject to the provisions of this Charter. The council shall enact a personnel ordinance to become effective no later than June 1, 1989.

902. - Organization.#

There shall be a department of personnel, the head of which shall be the director of personnel, appointed by the town council upon the recommendation of the town manager. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.

903. - Qualifications.#

The director of personnel shall be a person who holds at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in personnel management, labor relations, or business administration, and who has had no less than three (3) years' experience in personnel management.

904. - Functions.#

The functions of this department shall be to recruit, select, develop, and maintain an effective and responsive work force which will meet the social, economic, and service requirements of the citizens of the town, and perform such other duties as shall be required by this Charter, by ordinance, or by state law.

905. - Exempt and career services.#

The personnel of the town shall be divided into the exempt and career services. The exempt services shall consist of all officers elected by the people or by the council, all members of boards and commissions, persons employed on nonrecurring projects of limited duration, persons employed as consultants or counsel who are rendering temporary professional services, volunteers and persons appointed to service without pay, positions involving seasonal or part-time employment, employees of the school committee, and appointed officers and department heads. The career service shall consist of all other employees of the town. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.

906. - Powers and duties.#

The director of personnel shall, in accordance with state law or applicable collective bargaining agreements: (1)

Advise the town manager on the efficient utilization of human resources;

(2)

Establish and maintain an employee record system;

(3)

Establish a plan for resolving employee grievances and complaints;

(4)

Establish employee disciplinary action procedures which shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, providing a means for presenting charges, conducting hearings, guaranteeing rights, and establishing appeals;

(5)

Make an annual report to the town manager and the town council on the quality and status of personnel administration in the town government, make recommendations for improvements therein, and suggest personnel budget requirements for the following fiscal year;

(6)

Perform any other lawful acts and adopt all other rules which may be necessary or desirable to carry out the intent and provisions of this Charter relative to personnel matters or to execute the policies of the town manager or the council.

Editor's note— Subsections (1), (5) and (6) of this section were amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.

907. - Additional powers and duties; director of personnel and department heads.#

The director of personnel shall, in conjunction with department heads and in accordance with state law or applicable collective bargaining agreements: (1)

Establish standard qualifications for all career and exempt service positions, unless otherwise provided for in this Charter;

(2)

Prepare and revise a position classification plan for career service positions based upon similarity of duties performed and responsibilities assumed, to insure [ensure] equitable compensation for all positions in the same class. The plan shall also include rules governing the positions or classes in the career service, if necessary;

(3)

Establish minimum qualifications for each class or position;

(4)

Establish an objective method for recruiting, testing, interviewing, investigating, and determining the relative qualifications of all applicants for all positions.

908. - The career service.#

(A)

Job announcements. The director of personnel shall issue job announcements and publicize vacancies. Such announcements shall be written in a clear and readable manner and shall include [the] job title, salary range, and qualifications. Said announcements shall also indicate testing information, including the time, place, and manner of completing applications. Vacancies shall be announced a minimum of ten (10) working days prior to the closing date for filing applications. Continuous recruitment programs may also be established for any or all of the positions in career service.

(B)

Applications. All applications for employment shall be made on forms prescribed by the director of personnel; providing, however, that prior to submission of final applications, personal resumés containing information on the applicants' training and experience may be submitted. Applications shall be held on file for a period of one (1) year.

(C)

Rejection of applications. The director of personnel may reject applications which do not meet the minimum qualifications established for the position. Applications may also be rejected by the director if the applicant deliberately falsified information on the application, is physically unable to perform the duties of the position, or is not within the legal age limits prescribed by the law for the position.

(D)

Selection process. The selection process shall maximize reliability, objectivity, and validity through a practical and job-related assessment of each applicant's attributes as they are related to successful job performance and career development. The selection process shall be balanced to provide for competition by applicants from within career service who are seeking promotion and nonmunicipal employees seeking entry into career service. The selection process shall be as follows:

(1)

The director of personnel and/or department head shall administer appropriate tests to all qualified applicants. The test results shall constitute seventy-five percent of the applicant's final score.

(2)

The director of personnel and/or department head shall conduct an oral interview following a standard format. The interview results shall constitute twenty-five percent of [the] applicant's final score.

(3)

The combined test and interview results shall be tallied as a single score and the top [three] (3) highest scores shall be recommended to the town manager for appointment.

(4)

After considering all relevant factors, including applicable test scores, if two [(2)] or more applications have equal qualifications and abilities, preference may be given to the applicant who is a resident of the Town.

(E)

Notification of candidates. All persons competing in the selection process shall be given written notice whether [their] final rating is passing or failing. Within five (5) working days after receiving the rating notice, any applicant may inspect his or her examination papers and/or other documents relative to the rating during regular business hours at the office of the director of personnel. If an error is found, appropriate corrections shall be made by the director.

(F)

Budget approval. Before any final appointment shall be made, the director of personnel shall obtain certification from the finance director that such position has funding within the budget of the department in which the appointment is to be made.

(G)

Final appointment. The director of personnel shall submit to the town manager the names of the three (3) highest scoring candidates, one of whom shall be appointed by the town manager.

Editor's note— Subsections (D)(3) and (G) of this section were amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election. In addition, subsection (D)(4) was added by Question 5 approved at the June 19, 2001, Special Election.

909. - Probationary status.#

Career [service] employees of the town shall serve a probationary period of one (1) year before any appointment or promotion shall become permanent, during which time the probationary employee may be discharged or reduced in class position.

910. - Promotions.#

Vacancies in higher positions in the career service shall be filled on the basis of competitive testing and interviewing as provided in Section [908] of this article. Promotional consideration shall be given to all town employee applicants who have completed their probationary period and who meet the qualifications for the vacant position.

911. - Status of current employees.#

All persons who have been employees of the town for not less than one (1) year at the time this Charter takes effect are hereby placed in the career service of the town. All persons who have been employees of the town for less than one (1) year and for more than six (6) months at the time this Charter shall take effect shall become permanent employees in the career service upon satisfactory completion of a probationary period of six (6) months; provided, however, that those persons upon whom state law has conferred life tenure shall become permanent employees in the career service without regard to the length of their town employment.

912. - Felony convictions.#

No person who shall have been convicted of or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a felony shall be eligible for employment or appointment in any position with the town. Any employee or elected or appointed official of the town who shall be charged with, indicted on, or convicted of a felony shall be subject to suspension and removal from employment or office in the manner prescribed for employees or elected or appointed officials of the town in Section 2209 of this Charter. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 17 approved at the November 5, 1996, General Election.

913. - Additional requirements.#

The requirements for hiring employees of the town set forth in this article shall be considered as minimum requirements and shall not be interpreted as prohibiting the imposing of further requirements by the director of personnel and/or by department heads and other hiring authorities, with the approval of the town manager. Nothing in this Charter shall be construed as precluding the town manager or the town council from filling any exempt service position appointed or elected by them in the same manner as career service positions are filled. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election.

914. - General prohibitions.#

All employees of the town shall be recruited, selected, and promoted on the basis of their relative ability without regard to political consideration and they may not be required to contribute to any political purpose. Equal opportunity shall be given to all qualified applicants. There shall be no discrimination against any person being recruited for, seeking employment with, or currently employed by the town because of political or religious affiliation or belief, or because or [of] race, nationality, gender, age, or marital status.

915. - Residence.#

No person shall be eligible for appointment as Town Manager, Police Chief, Fire Chief, or Director of Public Works of the town who is not a resident and elector of the Town of West Warwick; provided, however, that a nonresident shall be eligible for appointment to the position of Town Manager, Police Chief, Fire Chief, or Director of Public Works if he or she signs an affidavit confirming that residency in the town will be established within one year of appointment. Upon certification of the town council that after a diligent search no person with proper qualifications can be found to fill the position of Town Manager, Police Chief, Fire Chief, or Director of Public Works, then the residency requirement may be waived by the town council. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 1 approved at the February 8, 1994, Special Election; Question 6 approved at the June 19, 2001, Special Election.

916. - Town officials and employees; appointments and tenure.#

The tenure in office of all officials and employees of the town appointed by the town council upon the recommendation of the town manager shall terminate upon the termination of the town manager's employment, unless the town council otherwise determines. Any such official or employee may be removed by the town council with or without cause. All town officials and employees of the town appointed by the town council upon the recommendation of the town manager shall be subject to the provisions of the approved personnel manual of the Town of West Warwick. Editor's note— This section was amended by Question 14 approved at the November 5, 1996, General Election.